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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

BUREAU OF FISHERIES 

HUGH M. SMITH, Commissioner 



INVESTIGATION OF THE SALMON FISHERIES 
OF THE YUKON RIVER 

By CHARLES H. GILBERT and HENRY O'MALLEY 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Outline of proposed investigations --------------- 128 

Itinerary ----------------------- 128 

Important species of salmon with data concerning runs --------- 129 

Red or sockeye salmon ----------------- 129 

Humpback salmon --.---.-------..-- 130 

Coho salmon ---------- 130 

King salmon -------------------- 131 

Chum or dog salmon -.---.----------. 134 

Yukon delta, its principal channels, and routes mainly followed by salmon - - - 138 

Commercial fishery operations in Yukon delta in 1920 --------- 140 

Supply of dried salmon prepared on Yukon River in 1920 -------- 143 

Comparison of 1920 with 1919 147 

To what extent was Yukon cannery responsible for 1919 shortage ? ----- 148 

Effect of cannery in 1920 150 

General discussion and recommendations -------------151 



[Extracted from Alaska Fishery and Fur-Seal Industries in 1920. By Ward T, Bower. 

Appendix VI to the Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries 

for 1921, pages 128-154] 




Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 909a 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1921 



ftlonograpfi 



^\^'r 






INVESTIGATION OF THE SALMON FISHERIES OF THE YUKON RIVER. 

By Charles H. Gilbert and Henky O'Mallet. 
OUTLINE OF PROPOSED INVESTIGATIONS. 

An exhaustive investio^ation of the problems presented by the sal- 
mon rim of the Yukon River obviously would require practical and 
scientific inquiry extending over a series of years. During the few 
summer months no very ambitious program could be attempted. 
Many of the most important problems must remain untouched. 
Time would not permit an examination of the tributaries with their 
spawning beds. No study could be made of spawning habits nor ob- 
servation of the fate of eggs and fry where these must lie beneath the 
graA^el of the ice-locked streams during the long severe winter and 
spring. Yet the possible destruction of eggs by freezing may be an 
important factor in limiting the size of salmon runs in far northern 
rivers and may, indeed, be responsible for the practical elimination 
of salmon from the streams that enter the Arctic Ocean. If natural 
propagation on the Yukon is rendered relatively ineffective because 
of severe climatic conditions, the operation of hatcheries would here 
produce proportionately greater results than in more temperate 
regions. To the extent that natural propagation in any region is 
wasteful and unproductive do the advantages of artificial propaga- 
tion appear. 

In a single short season it could not be hoped to carry out more 
than the following program : 

1. To inspect the spawning runs as these enter the mouth of the 
river and to ascertain by microscopic examination of the scales as 
much as this method can furnish of the life history of the Yukon 
salmon. 

2. To examine the fishery operations carried on by the Carlisle 
Packing Co., in the' Delta of the Yukon, this being the only can- 
nery which packs salmon bound for the spawning beds of the Yukon. 

3. To investigate the consumption of fresh and dried salmon by 
the resident population of the Yukon Valley and to estimate the im- 
portance to them of this salmon supply. 

4. To draw such conclusions as the facts warrant concerning the 
magnitude of the Yukon salmon run and its adequacy to support can- 
nery operations in addition to meeting the needs of the local popula- 
tion and providing a sufficient spawning reserve. 

ITINERARY. 

In carrying out the program above outlined the writers arrived in 
Skagway on May 12 and crossed White Pass and Lake Lebarge in 
time to take the first steamer down the Yukon, close behind the 
running ice of the spring breakup. At Tanana, which was reached 
May 31, transfer was made to the gasoline launches of the Bureau of 

LIBRAWOF^SS' 



U. S. BUKEAU 01' FISHERIES. 129 

Fisheries, and from June 8 to 13, in company with C. F. Townsend, 
inspector, Alaska Fisheries Service, the party proceeded by launch 
to the mouth of the river, arriving June 13 at the entrance to Kwiguk 
Channel, where was located the floating cannery of the Carlisle Pack- 
ing Co. 

From this date until August 1 attention was given to the fishing 
grounds located in the Kwikluak mouth of the river and in the off- 
shore district beyond this mouth, and to the principal channels of the 
delta which are closed to commercial fishing. From June 25 to July 
1 the party proceeded by launch from Kwiguk to Holy Cross and 
return, to inspect the fishing camps of the lower river during the 
height of the king-salmon run. From July 5 to 7 a trip was 
made by launch from Kwiguk to the middle mouth of the Yukon, 
traversing both the Kwikpak and the Kawanak Passes, returning by 
way of Old Fort Hamilton, and inspecting en route the run of 
salmon in these channels. From July 23 to 29 a trip was made 
by steamer from Kwiguk to St. Michael and return, passing through 
the Apoon mouth. During the fishing season in the delta careful 
scrutiny was given daily to the salmon runs, and scale data were 
secured from extensive series of the different species of salmon which 
comprise the run. 

From August 2 to 20 visits were made to fishing camps along the 
river from Kwiguk to Rampart, an approximate census secured of 
the amount of dried salmon, and fishermen interviewed concerning 
the runs of 1919 and 1920. Having proceeded by steamer from 
Rampart to Dawson, August 23 to 31, the return was made by 
launch from Dawson to Tanana, September 1 to 5, visiting on the 
way the fishing camps of the upper river. This phase of the inquiry 
terminated at Fairbanks on September 11, after ascending the Ta- 
nana River by launch as far as Nenana. 

[MPORTANT SPECIES OF SALMON WITH DATA CONCERNING RUNS. 

All five of the species of salmon known on the Pacific coast of 
North America make their appearance at the mouth of the Yukon 
and ascend that stream for a greater or less distance. Two of these 
species, however, the humpback salmon and the red or sockeye 
salmon, are present in such limited numbers as to have no practical 
significance. The three other species, namely, coho or silver, king, 
and chum or dog salmon, have substantial -runs in the Yukon River, 
the latter two being of real economic importance. 

RED OR SOCKETE SALMON. 

During the entire fishing season of 1920 the Carlisle cannery 
secured only 5 cases of sockeye salmon, in the neighborhood of 60 
fish. As the majority of these were taken on the flats outside the 
mouth of the river, there might seem warrant to consider them as 
strays which had wandered from the Kuskokwim, or from some 
other stream to the southward which possesses a well-marked run 
of this species. In that case they might not even be entering the 
river, but playing about for a time in brackish water before finally 
resorting to their native streams for spawning purposes. In favor 



130 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES. 

of this theory stands the fact that no breeding ground of the red 
salmon has yet been reported from any part of the Yukon Basin. 
The breeding ground of this species could be looked for only in con- 
nection with some lake, as the red salmon will not spawn under other 
than lake conditions. And the males of the species, when on the 
spawning grounds along the shores of a lake, or in the shallows of 
the creeks which enter it, are of such toilliant color as invariably to 
attract attention. It may be, therefore, that no permanent colony 
of reel salmon exists in the Yukon, and that the major portion of the 
individuals observed off the mouth of the river would not enter and 
ascend the stream. Occasional individuals do, however, ascend the 
Yukon, for the writers learned of their infrequent occurrence from 
observers acquainted with the different species of salmon, and one 
specimen (a male, decidedly pink in color) was seen at Ruby on 
August 14. During the much longer fishing season of 1919, 20 cases 
of red salmon were packed by the cannery. 

HUMPBACK SALMON. 

The humpbacks appear at the mouth of the river more numerously 
than the red salmon, but never in sufficient numbers to constitute a 
run, even of small dimensions. It was noticeable that they were 
far advanced toward spawning in July, often with liquid milt and 
partly free eggs. It would be impossible for them to ascend the river 
far with their spawning period so close at hand. In fact, there were 
no reports of their occurrence above Andreafski, where a ripe male 
was observed on August 3. 

COHO SALMON. 

The least in value of the three principal species is the coho, which 
runs much less numerously than the other two, and, In addition, is 
the latest to appear, often not presenting itself in any numbers in 
the middle and upper reaches of the river until the ice is forming in 
the fall. This species is little dried on account of its late appearance, 
but may be fed fresh to the dogs or frozen for later consumption. It 
seems not to be highly valued for human food. 

During the season of 1920 it was entering the mouth of the river 
in very limited numbers during the last week in July, but nothing 
approximating a run had at that time developed. The individuals 
then entering were bright silvery on the sides of the body, without 
trace of the red coloration which later appears, and the jaws of the 
male had developed no hook. Later, while inspecting the fishing 
camps between the mouth of the river and Tanana, from August 2 
to 15, everywhere occasional individuals of this species were being 
taken. At Ruby on August 14 the fish wheels were catching from 
one to six cohos each day; but at the Ramparts above Tanana on 
August 20 the species had not yet put in an appearance, nor could 
anything be learned of its occurrence in the main river above Tanana 
up to the date of the party's return from Dawson on iSeptember 5. 
The individuals observed below Tanana were running principally 
along the left (south) limit of the river, and it was reported that 
their main run was always along the left bank in company with the 
bright chums (" silver") and such king salmon as run late. To Avhat 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 131 

extent the early cohos turn into the Tanana it was impossible to 
determine. 

In the lower two or three hundred miles of the river the cohos 
during the early days of August may maintain the bright silvery 
coloration with which they enter from salt water, but soon a pinkish 
tinge appears, which becomes intensified to a bright red before Ruby 
is reached. At the same time the upper jaw of the male becomes 
bluntly hooked over the lower jaw, producing the characteristic snub- 
nosed appearance of this species on the spawning grounds, and the 
enlarged teeth of the males are soon in evidence. These changes in 
appearance may have already occurred before entering the river in 
the case of the latest individuals to enter. 

It is most unfortunate that the only name by which the coho salmon 
is commonly known on the Yukon is " chinook," which is the special 
name of the king salmon of the Columbia River and is totally inap- 
plicable to the coho. Near the mouth of the Yukon, where the influ- 
ence of the cannery has been felt, the coho is generally and properly 
designated as the silver salmon, which is one of the two names by 
which the species is known in other fishing centers of Alaska. Unfor- 
tunately, as will later appear, elsewhere throughout the Yukon 
the term " silver salmon " is generally but mistakenly applied to 
an entirely different species. To avoid confusion, therefore, it is 
suggested that this species be known on the Yukon as the coho, a 
name by which it is generally known to the trade. 

KING SALMON. 

The king salmon appears at the river mouth shortly after the ice 
has run out — in the last week of May or the early days of June, The 
numbers rapidly increase, the run culminates quickly, and then 
almost as quickly declines. During the season of 1920 the first king 
salmon was obtained on June 13, although nets had been set to test 
the grounds for five days prior to that date. The rapidity with 
which the run sets in is well shown by the records of the first few 
clays at the cannery. On June 15, 34 king salmon were obtained; 
on June 16, 175; June 17, 1,639; and on June 18, 5,228, this being 
the next to the largest take on any day during the season. The 
largest capture of king salmon in any one day was 6,104 on June 21. 
In no other dsij, except the two above mentioned, did the number 
captured quite reach 4,000. The run may be said to have begun on 
June 15 and to have culminated within the first week. It continued 
for some 10 days thereafter at a high level, and then registered un- 
mistakable decline. The average take at the cannery "for the best 
consecutive 16 days of the run was a little more than 3,000 fish 
per day. 

The experience during the previous season, 1919, was very similar 
as regards the beginning, culmination, and decline of the king salmon 
run. The fish appeared during the second week in June, ran most 
abundantly during the following week, continued at a high level 
for two weeks more, and then rapidly fell off. 

The average size of the 1920 king salmon was greater than that 
of 1919, as is shown by the average number required to make a case 
in each of the two years. The average number in 1919 was 3.54 to 
the case, while in 1920 it required but 3,03. The difference was even 



132 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

greater than is indicated by these figures, for in 1919 comparatively 
few fish of larger size were taken out for mild curing, while in 1920 
there were put up 145 tierces of mild-cured kings, with 800 pounds 
to the tierce. These were all selected from the larger sizes and would 
have materially diminished the number required per case if all had 
been canned. 

During the early part of the fishing season the king salmon were 
silvery in color, Avithout trace of red; the testes are small, hard, and 
purplish in color ; the eggs are always small, not more than half the 
size when mature. The snout of the males was then so little pro- 
duced as to give no certain indication of sex. This condition con- 
tinued during the greater part of June, near the latter end of which 
the run indicated a decided falling off. But on June 29 a second 
run appeared of small dimensions, and it was at once apparent that 
these fish were further along in their development. The jaws of the 
male were now somewhat prolonged and hooked, and the enlarged 
teeth had begun to show. They were now reddish in color, and the 
bellies Avere so thin that they Avere little valued for mild-cure pur- 
]>oses. These changes Avere abrupt and coincided Avith the sudden 
iiicrease in the run. 

The natural enemies Avhich left traces of their presence on the 
entering salmon were the AA^hite Avhales, or belugas, and the lamprey 
eels. Belugas Avere very much in evidence in the loAver river chan- 
nels during the latter part of the season, the size of their schools 
increasing as the salmon were running more abundantly. Un- 
doubtedly they were feeding on the salmon, and it is safe to 'assume 
that they captured and deA^oured a A^ery large proportion of those 
on Avhich they succeeded in closing their jaAvs. But the number of 
salmon Avhich appeared on the cannery floor bearing unmistakable 
tooth marks of the beluga was surprising. The sides Avere scored 
lengthwise by widely spaced lines, Avhich usually described a gentle 
curve, but were occasional!}'- angulated. Evidently these salmon had 
escaped from the A^ery jaAA^s of their pursuers. 

Other marks Avhich attracted uniA^^ersal attention and Avere usually 
mistaken for hatchery brands Avere the scars made by the lamprey 
eel. This slender eel-shaped animal has an oval sucker-shaped 
mouth provided Avith roAvs of rasping teeth. By means of the sucker 
mouth it attaches itself to the salmon and may rasp off the skin 
and even deeper-lying tissues for food. A scar is left which often 
reproduces with great fidelity the details of the mouth, with its 
outer fringe of filaments and its inner groups of teeth, AAdiich in 
the scar often giA''e the impression of printed characters. 

Such lamprey scars haA^e been occasionally obserA^ed in other 
rivers, but never before in such abundance as on the Yukon. This 
fact probably stands related to the large lamprey run which is 
indigenous to this stream. They enter the mouth of the river in the 
fall after the surface has frozen and run up under the ice, to the 
under surface of AA^hich they often attach themselves Avhen resting. 
Although the run lasts but few hours at any locality, it is of enor- 
mous dimensions and furnishes tons of food to those AAdio dip them 
up through holes cut in the ice. 

Like the salmon, the lampreys enter the riA^er for purposes of 
propagation, and all die after the eggs are laid. The 7/oung soon 



V. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



133 



after hatching burrow in the mud of the river banks and live like 
earthworms for an indefinite period of two or more years. After 
this they pass out to sea when some 6 inches long, and spend the 
remainder of their life in the ocean. So far as known to the 
writers, the lamprey scars have been found on salmon exclusively, 
and on the Yukon never on chums or dog salmon. Some king 
salmon would have two or even three scars and one was found on a 
sockeye, but among the thousands of Yukon chums that we in- 
spected there was not one that had been attacked by a lamprey. 
It is an interesting question whether the Yukon lampreys follow 
the king salmon of their own river on their feeding grounds and 
prey on them. It is not known that their attacks are ever dan- 
gerous. The salmon observed seemed in no case to have been 
seriously injured. 

That the king salmon ascend the Yukon at a high rate of speed 
has been accepted generally. An attempt was made to secure re- 
liable records of their first appearance at a large number of localities 
along the river. Wireless messages were sent to a number of points 
during the early days of the run before the dates should be for- 
gotten. And, in addition, a number of important records were 
secured during visits to the fishing camps, some of these giving the 
catch in detail da,y by day throughout the season. While it is 
recognized that the capture of the first salmon of the season at 
different points along the river may vary within a day or two in 
relation to the beginning of the run, an examination of the data 
indicates that this source of error is not serious and that reliable 
conclusions concerning the rate of travel can be drawn from the 
table presented. In this table, when two or more records have been 
obtained from the same locality, the earliest has been selected as 
giving the first appearance of the king salmon in that portion of 
the river. 

Date of Capture of First King Salmon at Localities on Yukon Rivee, Season 

OF 1920. 



Locality. 




Approxi- 
mate 
distance 
traveled . 



South mouth of river 

Run begins south mouth 

Pilot Station 

Marshall 

Russian Mission 

Tucker's fish camp 

Paimiut 

Holy Cross 

Halls Rapids, above Anvik 

Camp 51 miles below Kaltag 

Kaltag 

Koyuiuk 

Whisky Creek, above Louden 

Ruby 

Tanana 

Fish Creek, above Rampart Rapids . 

Circle 

Charlie Creek 

Eagle 

De Wolf's flsh camp 

Dawson 



June 13 
June 15 
June 20 
. ..do.. .. 
June 21 
June 23 
June 22 
June 23 
June 24 
June 27 
June 28 
June 29 
June 27 
...do.. .. 
June 28 
July 3 
July 11 
July 
July 
July 



Miles. 



.do.. 



107 

144 

204 

221 

259 

279 

346 

440 

491 

555 

622 

659 

804 

851 

1,227 

1,317 

1,402 

1,478 

1,504 



134 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES. 

Inspection of the above table shows the slowest rate of travel in 
the first hundred miles of the river above its mouth. From the en- 
trance of the South Mouth to Pilot Station is approximately 130 
miles, but it was five days after the run began in the mouth of the 
river before the first king salmon appeared at Pilot Station, indi- 
cating a rate of about 30 miles per day. Between Pilot Station and 
Tanana, on the other hand, the rate of travel was slightly more than 
80 miles per day. This discrepancy is probably due to the habit of 
playing back and forth in brackish water, on entering the river 
mouth, before beginning their serious ascent of the river. It is well 
known to the fishermen at the mouth of the river that salmon enter 
the gill nets as numerously from the upstream as from the down- 
stream side. They pass back and forth on the tides, lingering within 
the fishing district, thus giving the nets many more opportunities to 
capture them than would be the case if they pursued a direct course 
on entering the stream. 

Three records below Tanana, those of the camp 51 miles below 
Kaltag, Kaltag itself, and Koyukuk, do not align themselves with 
the remainder of the series. At the average rate of travel king 
salmon should have reached Kaltag by the 24th instead of the 28th 
and Koyukuk by the 25th instead of the 29th. In both of these 
localities the capture of king salmon was considered of little relative 
importance, and the records are doubtless defective. 

Above Tanana the current of the river increases materially, rapids 
are encountered, and the intricate channels of the Yukon Flats are 
to be threaded. It is not surprising to find that the rate of travel in 
the upper portion of the river becomes reduced. Not only are the 
dilRculties of ascent increased but the potential store of energy in 
the fish approaches exhaustion. When they enter the mouth of the 
river they are the richest in oil of any salmon known, but by the 
time they reach Dawson their flesh is comparatively dry and flavor- 
less, the oil having been expended to supply the energy needed in 
ascending 1,500 miles against the current and in carrying forward 
at the same time the sexual changes which precede the act of spawn- 
ing. The average rate of travel from Tanana to Dawson was 
slightly less than 45 miles per day, while from Pilot Station to 
Dawson, involving practically the entire length of the river below 
Dawson, the average rate was 57 miles per day. 

No record of any other river approaches this in completeness nor 
in the high rate of travel indicated. The unexampled speed Avith 
which salmon ascend the Yukon is doubtless associated with the 
great distances to be traversed before reaching their upper spawning 
areas, taken in connection with the shortness of the northern summer. 

Inasmuch as the investigators were compelled to restrict their 
attention to the main river, they are unable to designate the prin- 
cipal spawning areas of the king salmon. Limited numbers of kings 
are reported to turn aside into all the principal tributaries of the 
lower and middle sections of the river, but it is believed that a rela- 
tively large proportion of the run passes beyond the mouth of the 
Porcupine into the upper portion of the basin. 

CHUM OR DOG SALMON. 

Although the king salmon is an important source of food to the 
natives and the white population, it is far surpassed in value by the 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHEEIES. 135 

chum or dog salmon, which must be considered the principal food 
product of tiie Yukon River. 

It makes its appearance off the mouth of the river only a few days 
later than the advent of the king salmon. In 1920 the first chum was 
obtained June 17, and from the ITth to the 19th, 138 became entangled 
in the coarse mesh of the king salmon nets set outside the mouth of 
the river; but none apparently had as yet entered the stream. On 
June 20, 2 were reported inside the river ; June 21, 82 ; and June 22, 
26; but during these three days 856 were taken in the outside nets, 
indicating clearly that the chums were beginning to school in some 
abundance outside the river, but that few were entering up to June 
22, when the run up the river may be said to have begun. It became 
greatlj^ accelerated on June 29 and maintained itself with minor 
fluctuations, until the cannery ceased oi^erations the middle of July. 
No strictly quantitative results concerning the run of chums could 
be obtained from the cannery records during this season, as nets 
with appropriate mesh for capture of chums were not employed until 
the last week in June. For this reason, the apparent increase in size 
of run during the latter days of June is certainly overemphasized by 
the cannery statistics. 

The first chums to arrive were further advanced toward sexual 
maturity than were the king salmon. In the latter the testes and 
ovaries were small and the snout so little produced in the males that 
there was no certain external evidence of the sex of the individuals 
examined. But in the case of the chums, even those earliest to run 
had the milt white in color and ob^dously enlarged, and the large eggs 
were already loosening in the ovary. The jaws of the males were not 
hooked, but were showing a slight sharpening and elongation, so that 
sex determination could usually be made from the appearance of the 
head. All the early chums were bright silvery in color, with abun- 
dant oil, and pinkish flesh which turned a deeper red on drying. All 
of them were in such condition that they would have been classed as 
" silvers " rather than as " dog salmon " by fishermen of the upper 
river. 

But changes in the appearances of the chums were soon apparent. 
At first, as in the case of the Idng salmon, rare individuals, usually 
males, showed themselves in an advanced stage of development, with 
brightly colored bars on the sides of the body and long hooked jaws. 
They stood out conspicuously from their fellows, which were still in 
the " silver " stage. 

But by the last of June, when a great increase suddenly occurred 
in the take of chum salmon, obvious seasonal changes had appeared 
in this species, as in the king salmon running at the same period. It 
was now the rule for the males to exhibit elongated jaws provided 
with canine teeth, and to show the beginnings of the conspicuous 
color marks which characterize the spawning males of this species. 
During the first days of July the run of chums again fell off, accom- 
panied by a further increase in the matured appearance of the fish. 
As this occurred at the same time in chums and in king sahnon, it 
appeared to the fishermen that the end of the run was in sight. 

On July 7 a new run of chums suddenly set in, the great majority 
of .which were of bright silvery appearance and with no further sea- 
sonal advancement than had been shown by the fish that ran first in 
June. Among them were a few stragglers of the previous run, the 

75376—21- — 2 



136 U, S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

males and females equally conspicuous among their silvery compan- 
ions. On subsequent dates these stragglers became more rare, and 
when the party left for the upriver on August 2 the few chums that 
were then running were almost wholly of the pronounced silvery 
type. 

It is unfortunate that confusion should have arisen in the Yukon 
from a failure to recognize that the clog salmon and the so-called 
" silvers " represent different phases in the development of one and 
the same species. 

The "dog salmon" are the individuals furthest advanced toward 
spawning. They exhibit the elongated hooked jaws and enlarged 
teeth in the male, the bright nuptial coloration, and the impover- 
ished condition of the flesh, which is light in color, largely devoid of 
oil, and possessing very little substance when dried. 

In the "silvers" the eggs and milt are less developed, the jaws of 
the male are little or not at all hooked, the external coloration is sil- 
very, or with a light flush of red, and the meat is red in color when 
dried, rich in oil, and valuable both for human food and for dogs. 

In general, the " dog salmon " along any stretch of the river con- 
sist of those individuals which will turn into some adjacent tributary 
to spawn, while the " silvers " are on their way to the upper reaches 
of the river, show relatively little of the sexual changes they will ex- 
hibit on their spawning beds, and are still richly provided with the 
oil which serves as fuel and principal source of nourishment during 
the long journey still before them. 

Many fishermen recognize the difficulty of distinguishing sharply 
between " dogs " and " silvers " and relieve their embarrassment by 
recognizing a third class, the " half-breeds." But the term " silver 
salmon " has acquired a fairly definite and useful significance in the 
trade. "Dog salmon" are so poor in nourishment that they have 
indifferent value even for dog feed, and will not be purchased except 
during times of extraordinary scarcity. The natives will feed them 
to their dogs, but will not eat them themselves unless king salmon and 
" silver salmon " are unobtainable. 

The use of the term " silver salmon " for bright silvery chums, still 
rich in substance, is 60 universal and of such long standing in the 
interior of Alaska that it seems useless to attempt to supplant it with 
any other name. Confusion will inevitably result owing to the pres- 
ence of the totally different species, the coho, which is commonly 
known in outside waters as the silver salmon. It is proposed, there- 
fore, that the term " silvers," when referring to the Yukon basin, be 
restricted to the chums known commercially by that name, while the 
three species of salmon of importance on that stream be known as 
the king, the chum, and the coho. 

It became. evident, as we were ascending the river in August, that 
the "dogs" and the "silvers" were in general keeping apart from 
each other and were following distinct migration routes. Through- 
out the entire lower course of the Yukon, from Tanana at least as 
far as Anvik, the " dogs " predominated on the right (north limit) 
of the river and the " silvers " on the left limit. This is generally 
recognized by all the fishermen of that region, who also agree that the 
" dog salmon " turn into all the creeks and smaller tributaries, while 
the silvers " dislike the taste of fresh water," as a native fisherman 
stated the case. It is also recognized that a heavier run of kings and 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 137 

of colios is found in company with the " silvers " along the left limit 
of the river. It appears, therefore, that there is a prevailing use of 
the left shore hj those fish which are bound for the upper reaches 
of the river. This may have connection with the fact that the ma- 
jority of the tributaries of the lower river enter on the right bank. 

The run of chums is not of uniform character and quality through- 
out the season. Fishermen recognize a succession of phases in the 
run, characterized by fish which on the average are recognizably 
different. ' In general, it is stated that the run of chums which accom- 
pany the king salmon are 'of relatively small size and poor quality, 
commonly known as dog salmon. Following these is a run of bright 
fish of good quality but inferior size, known as " silvers," while the 
last chums to run, late in August and early in September, are the 
finest of all, the " silvers " par excellence, a bright rich form dis- 
tinctly of larger size. This last run of " silvers " ordinarily is of 
short duration, but is frequently of great intensity, and furnishes the 
most highly i^rizecl fish of the season. 

As it was necessary to make a canvass of the entire river before 
the fishing season had come to a close, the writers were unable to 
observe the alleged succession of forms of the chum salmon at any 
locality. Distinct differences in the character and quality of the 
fish appeared at the various camps visited, but these differences 
were apparently dependent either on the proximity of the camp to 
important tributaries into which spawning chum salmon would pass, 
or, more especially, on the location of the camp with reference to 
the river itself, whether on the right bank or the left. In general 
when following up the right (north) bank of the river the quality 
of the fish became poorer as one approached the mouths of the 
tributaries. The impression was strong that the fish destined for 
these tributaries vrere farther advanced than those with which they 
were associated on the same side of the river bound for more dis- 
tant spawning grounds. A further more detailed s^udy of the char- 
acteristics of the chums at different times and in different localities 
and the distribution of the various strains to their respective spawn- 
ing areas would offer results of importance equally from the bio- 
logical and from the strictly practical point of view. During the 
season of 1919 the bright chums, or " silvers," were said to be almost 
wholly wanting. If these were the fish bound for the more distant 
spawning beds, then the upper sections of the river must have re- 
mained largely unseeded in 1919 and incapable of producing their 
quota of a subsequent season's supply. In 1920 the run of chums 
was peculiar, in tha^ it lasted lono-er than is usual in good years, 
but was of less intensity, and the August run of " silvers " failed to 
attain its usual proportions. In subsequent years the late run of 
" silvers " should be carefully noted. If there is evidence of a pro- 
gessive decline, steps should be taken to protect this most important 
part of the run. To accomplish this result information should be 
obtained concerning the spawning beds which are resorted to by this 
large and valuable race of chums. 

The chums travel up the river at a rate approximately equal to that 
of the king salmon. In 1920, as has been shown, they were schooling 
on the tide-flats off the mouth of the river nearly a week before they 
began to ascend the stream in a.Tij numbers on June 22. Adopting 
the latter date as the beginning ,of the run, it appears that they 



138 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES. 

started about a week later than the king salmon. In the section of 
the river between Louden and Tanana, they were reported as 8 to 
10 days behind the kings, and in the district between Circle and 
Dawson, the first chum was recorded 11 to 17 days later than the 
first king. It is evident, therefore, that the chum salmon, also, 
although apparently far less vigorous than the king, ascend the 
river at an astonishing rate of speed, maintained without cessation 
for well over a month, under the necessities imposed on them by the 
short summer and the rigorous fall climate of the Yukon. 

The opinion has already been recorded that the king salmon of 
the Yukon is the richest in oil of any known king salmon. The same 
statement, made with even greater emphasis, may be advanced re- 
garding the Yukon chums. This species is noted in other localities 
for its poor oil and poor color. The canned product is the reverse of 
attractive in color or in richness, and occupies the lowest rank in 
the markets of the world. In other river basins the chums do not 
travel far from the sea, but enter late in the season and seek spawning 
beds not far inland. But the best of the Yukon chums travel 1,000 
to 2,000 miles up a river known for its consistently rapid current. 
They form a rich table fish in the lower section of the Yukon, where 
the king salmon, to ordinary palates, contains a superabundance of 
oil. No more striking evidence of the richness of the king salmon 
can be found than that presented in the smokehouses of natives in 
the lower river. Here the drying salmon constant!}^ drip a pure, 
clear red oil, which is collected in vessels and preserved for winter 
use. At the village of Ohogamute. above Marshall, we observed some 
30 quart bottles filled with red salmon oil, secured this season from 
drying king salmon. 

YUKON DELTA, ITS PRINCIPAL CHANNELS, AND ROUTES MAINLY 
FOLLOWED BY SALMON. 

The Yukon River subdivides numerously within its extensive delta, 
and sends its waters to the sea through a large number of distinct 
channels. Many of these are narrow winding canals, which 
meander in every direction interminably through the flat lands, 
before they attain the outer edge of the delta. Through all of them, 
doubtless, some salmon pass, but three of the channels so far 
transcend the others in size and importance that for practical pur- 
poses they may be considered as forming the mouths of the Yukon 
and the main migration routes of the entering salmon. The channels 
in question, in order of importance, are Kwikluak Pass, or south 
mouth, with its important branch, the Kwiguk Pass; Kawanak and 
Kwikpak Passes, which coalesce before entering the sea and form 
together the middle mouth ; and Apoon Pass, or north mouth. 

Much the smallest of the three is the Apoon Channel, which 
traverses the northern sector of the delta, and forms the most direct 
route for river steamers bound to and from St. Michael. Although 
exclusively used as a steamer channel, it is poorly adapted for this 
purpose, being so shallow both within and without the mouth that 
light-draft boats have quite the habit of going aground there and 
waiting until a favoring tide shall float them. 

Few salmon apparently find their way through Apoon Pass. A. 
few families of natives from Kotlik villao;e had established a fish 



U. S. B.UEEAU OF FISHEKIES. 139 

camp on the shore just outside the mouth of the river, but the drying 
frames were scantily supplied with salmon when they were seen in 
the last week of July. Between the mouth of the pass and old Fort 
Hamilton no fishing stations were occupied, and the nets operated by 
the white trader at old Fort Hamilton were having no success. The 
general belief that Apoon Pass is of little importance as a fishway 
seemed wholly justified by observations. It has probably no greater 
importance than have some of the subsidiary channels through the 
delta. 

The lower Kwikpak and the Kawanak Passes, which together con- 
stitute the middle mouth, are the least known of the^ three main 
divisions of the river. ISTo steamers traverse them and very few 
natives have their summer fishing camps along their banks. The 
Kawanak is a stream of large size and fair depth of water and the 
lower Kwikpak, although choked with sandbars, carries a consider- 
able current. 

This middle mouth was visited July 5 to T, at a time when the 
Carlisle Packing Co., on request, was testing the run of salmon by 
setting nets in the lower Kawanak Channel. Two nets were set along 
the left bank and two others were set offshore along the edge of a 
bank. This test was made during a slack period in the run in the 
south mouth, when the king salmon especially were running in 
greatly reduced numbers and the chums were not coming in full 
force. During 14 hours' fishing in the Kawanak Channel the four 
nets took 3 king salmon and 67 chums. In a second test of equal 
length the following day the showing was even less favorable. 

One native fishing camp, which obviously has been occupied for 
many years, is located on the upper point of the long island which 
separates the Kawanak and Kwipak channels, immediately below 
their first confluence near the mouth. Four families were encamped 
at this place, and reported a favorable catch of king salmon during 
the preceding two weeks. The run had now slackened, they said, and 
the chums were just beginning to appear. They had found the 
season thus far very much better than the preceding year, when they 
had fished in the same locality. During the season of 1919 they had 
been unable to secure many more salmon than they had needed for 
their summer's use. At the time the camp was visited they had caught 
enough king salmon to fill one rack and two smokehouses, and had 
made use of two short gill nets of their own make set in an eddy along 
the bank of the island. The nets were not more than 25 feet long. 
Later, when a fresh run had entered the south mouth, word was re- 
ceived that the native fishermen in the middle mouth were again 
making good catches. It seemed, therefore, that the runs in the two 
mouths were well synchronized, the fluctuations during different 
seasons and between different days of the same season, following- 
each other closely. This was well shown in a test made in the middle 
mouth, on request, during the earlier part of the season, when king 
salmon were running abundantly in the south mouth. This test was 
made on June 25 and 26, and resulted in a satisfactory catch of king 
salmon, with very few chums. 

In view of the tests here indicated and observations at the fishing 
camp, it can not be said that the middle mouth lacks importance as a 
route for salmon. Yet it is considered to be very far indeed behind 
the south mouth in this respect. It is doubtful whether it equals in 

75376—21 3 



140 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

importance the subsidiary channel known as the Kwiguk, which 
branches off from the Kwikluak Pass, a few miles above its mouth. 
It may safely be inferred that the native fish camps are located at 
the most favorable fishing sites. These are occupied year after year 
and generation after generation b}'- the same families and their de- 
scendants. Where native fishing villages are most thickly grouped 
will be found the largest and most unfailing supply of salmon. With 
this as a basis, the writers are compelled to conclude that the south 
mouth serves as the migration route for the greater part of the 
Yukon run. While no data are available for an estimate, it is not 
considered beyond the bounds of probability that nine-tenths of the 
entire run enter by the Kwikluak Pass and its subsidiary channel, 
the Kwiguk. About 100 families of natives were fishing in this 
district in 1920, while not to exceed 10 families were seen in the 
middle mouth below Dogfish Village. In no case did the latter 
families have equal success with those camped on the Kwikluak 
Pass. 

It is on the KAviguk Channel, just below its emergence from the 
Kwikluak, that the floating cannery of the Carlisle Packing Co. 
has been located during the two seasons of its operation in the delta. 
Protected from the heavy southerly- winds which blow up the main 
channel during the summer months, this site is within easy distance 
of the main fishing grounds in the lower part of the Kwikluak Chan- 
nel and among the offshore shoals and islands. Inasmuch as the 
Yukon salmon appear largely to travel along the banks, in the eddies, 
and along the margins of submerged banks, it is believed possible 
during a favorable fivshing season to secure from this location as a 
base a very considerable proportion of the salmon of the Kwikluak 
Channel. Fortunately, no commercial fishing for export is per- 
mitted in the Kwiguk Channel. Several native families were lo- 
cated on this channel in 1920, and one white trader maintained a 
wheel. Good catches of king salmon and chums were secured at 
all of these camps, but it was believed that the run of kings was 
proportionally^ not as heavy as in the main channel. 

COMMERCIAL FISHERY OPERATIONS IN YUKON DELTA IN 1920. 

The fishery operations of the Carlisle Packing Co. in 1920 were 
conducted principally in the south or Kwikluak mouth of the river 
and beyond that mouth among the seaward channels which diverge 
from it. The mouth of the Kwikluak Channel was designated as 
it was during the previous season by a stake set in the right or north- 
ern bank on the projecting point of land at Ingrakaklak (see U. S. 
C. & G. S. chart 9373) and by a stake set on the left or southern 
bank of the channel at the entrance to the well-marked lagoon some 
half mile below Nilak. 

A few fishing camps were established by the company as far up the 
Kwikluak Channel as Dogfish Village, where the main river makes 
its first grand division into the Kwikluak Channel and a channel 
which later divides to reach the middle and the Apoon mouths. 
Above Dogfish Village no fishing camps were established by the 
company, but they purchased limited numbers of salmon from a few 
independent fishermen, who operated at points below the mouth of 
Clear River near Andreafski. 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 141 

Commercial fishing for export was thus carried on exclusively in 
the main Yukon, between the mouth of Clear River and Dogfish 
Village and below Dogfish Village, in the main Kwikluak Channel 
and its seaward extensions. All subsidiary channels branching off 
from the Kwikluak were closed to commercial fishing, whether these 
served as communicating links between larger channels, as in the case 
of Aproka Pass, or, as in the case of the Kwiguk Channel, secured 
independent egress to the sea. 

But in no case were the salmon which entered through these pro- 
tected channels given unimpeded access to the upper river. All of 
them must pass through the 40 or 50 mile stretch of the main river 
between Dogfish Village and Andreafski, where they were exposed 
to capture for commercial purposes; and those that enter through 
the important Kwiguk Channel must in addition run the gauntlet of 
a further 40 miles of river between the Kwiguk entrance and Dogfish 
Village. During the past season very little commercial fishing was 
in fact carried on in the stretch of river above Dogfish Village, but 
this was of choice and not from necessity, for no restrictions are there 
imposed by existing regulations. 

During the season of 1919, 65 per cent of the king salmon and 61 
per cent of the smaller fish — chums, cohos, and sockeyes — were taken 
beyond the mouth of the river, while in 1920 the proportion was even 
greater, 69 per cent of the king salmon and 68 per cent of the chums 
being taken outside. 

The fishing grounds in 1920 extended much farther away from the 
river than in 1919. During a part of the season 12 fishing boats were 
located between 10 and 20 miles outside Nilak, along the shallow 
banks bordering the Acharon Channel on the mainland side (U. S. 
C. & G. S. chart 9373). The outermost stations were for a time the 
most successful, meeting the Yukon salmon well down the coast 
toward the mouth of Black River. How much farther in the direc- 
tion of the Kuskokwim the advancing schools may be encountered in 
numbers adequate to warrant commercial fishing is as yet undeter- 
mined. An expedition which they sent down the coast to Cape 
Romanof testifies to the interest of the Carlisle Packing Co. in this 
question. 

The fishing methods employed by the company in 1920 did not 
differ from those in use in 1919. Almost their sole dependence was 
on gill nets, set in convenient lengths in the eddies and on shallow 
banks along the main channels. For the most part these were set 
nets or anchored gill nets, with one end made fast to the shore and 
the outer end anchored. But during the latter end of the season, 
when the river was no longer at flood, it became possible to fish on 
shallow banks, which were not available during the height of the 
king salmon run. Stake nets were then used in larger numbers 
and would unquestionably have been availed of more extensively 
throughout the season had the stage of water permitted. 

The gill nets used were of two kinds, the king salmon nets of 8|- 
i.nch mesh and the nets for chums and other small salmon of 5f-inch 
mesh. As the company from the beginning of the season contem- 
plated fishing largely, if not exclusively, for the king salmon, only 
nets of the larger mesh were issued during the height of the king 
salmon run, which lasted up to the last days of June. After this 



142 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES. 

date the smaller mesh nets were also issued, but the number of these 
on hand was not adequate to supply all the fishermen. 

Forty-one boats in all were employed in fishing, 34 of these 
throughout the season, the remainder for varying periods. Four of 
them were engaged so short a time and obtained so few fish that they 
may well be omitted from consideration. To each boat was issued 
200 fathoms of king salmon net, and subsequently 200 fathoms of the 
small mesh salmon net, to the extent that this was obtainable. 

In addition to the gill nets, renewed attempts were made in 1920 
to use fish wheels. Two of these were constructed by the company, 
but were no sooner placed for fishing than they Avere put out of 
commission by the heavy drift which was running during the early 
days of the fishing season. 

In addition to the above, nine wheels were privately owned and 
operated within the area open to commercial fishing, and the catch 
of seven of these was sold in whole or in part to the cannery. A 
very limited number of salmon were obtained from independent 
fishermen using nets. The number thus purchased from independent 
operators using wheels or nets amounted to some 7,400 kings and 
27,000 chums, out of a total number handled by the cannery of 
58,467 kings and 155,655 chums. 

The fishing gear operated by tHe cannery and by private parties 
occupied only a narrow fringe along the margins of the channels. 
No attempt was made to fence or block the main channels in any 
manner, nor could such an attempt at any time be successful. 

The employees at the cannery numbered 254. Of these, 122 were 
brought in from Seattle, including 40 Orientals and 44 fishermen. 
Of the 132 Alaskans, 40 were employed as fishermen, while 48 were 
natives, of which the first crew of 25 ceased work in the middle of the 
season. It was pleasing to learn from the superintendent that the 
Alaskan fishermen gave a good account of themselves and would 
hereafter be preferred by the company. 

The pack put up by the cannery in 1920 was far less extensive than 
in the previous 3^ear, as is shown by the following table : 

Pack of Salmon by Yukon Cannery in 1919 and 1920. 



Product. 


1919 


1920 


Canned (cases): 


28, 582 

24, 543 

3,181 

28 


15, 934 


Chums. . . . . ... 


12, 819 


Cohos 





Reds 


5 


Mild-cure (tierces) 


145 


i 





The comparative lack of success in 1920 was due in part to the un- 
favorable fishing conditions and in part to voluntary shortening of 
the fishing season. In 1919 fishing was continued until the close of 
August, but in 1920 only until the middle of July, as the low market 
price for chums did not warrant the company in continuing to oper- 
ate after the run of king salmon was over. The season of 1920 was 
extremely late on the Yukon, and the king salmon entered with a 
rush, while yet the river was very high and was carrying down enor- 



U. S. BUKEAU OF FISHERIES. 143 

mous quantities of drift, which clogged the nets and rendered them 
inefficient. Also, during July the weather was unusually stormy, in- 
terfering with the fishing and endangering both fishing gear and the 
lives of the fishermen exposed on the fiats beyond the river's mouth. 
From the cannery standpoint, the season was a failure, redeemed from 
actual loss — if such indeed was the case — by the extremely high price 
quoted this year for king salmon. Yet the cannery pack of 28,758 
cases fell short only 1,242 cases of the maximum number of salmon 
which had been designated by the Secretary of Commerce as safely 
to be spared for commercial purposes from the Yukon River run. 

No fish intended for export from Alaska were salted on the Yukon 
River in 1920. 

SUPPLY OF DRIED SALMON PREPARED ON YUKON RIVER IN 1920. 

On the voyage down the Yukon from Lower Lebarge to the delta, 
following close behind the running ice. May 24 to June 13, few indi- 
cations could be observed of preparation for the fishing season. Here 
and there a white fisherman was engaged in constructing his fish 
wheel in time for the short king salmon run, but the native fish camps 
were unoccupied. Later it was evident that in comparatively few 
instances did the natives have wheels in the water in time to obtain 
any considerable number of king salmon. 

On the lower river, below Holy Cross or Paimiut, the natives be- 
long to the Innuit stock, and fish much less extensively with wheels 
than do the Indians of the upper river... They employ for the most 
part short lengths of liomemade gill nets, which they set in eddies 
behind projecting points of the shore. As favorable localities are 
found almost exclusivel}^ along the high right (north) bank of the 
lower river, the fishing villages are confined to that side. 

Above Holy Cross the use of nets becomes less and less an im- 
portant factor, and wheels are relied on almost exclusively for the 
capture of salmon. Rarely was the primitive fish trap or basket or 
the dip net seen in use. The small fish wheels, which seem to have 
been introduced on the Tanana River in 1904, ha vie been generally 
adopted on the upper river by whites and natives alike. They cost 
about $50 each, in addition to the labor of building them, and are 
wonderfully effective Avhen skillfully placed. 

In the section of the river between Holy Cross and Rampart little 
dependence is placed by the natives on the king salmon. There is 
an early short run, and the natives are traditionally dilatory in mak- 
ing preparations. By the time their wheels are in the water the 
king salmon run is largely over. It is also true that the king salmon 
are more difficult to preserve, being larger in size and richer in oil. 
Those that are put up' by the natives are kept largely for their own 
consumption and for this purpose are most highly prized. Taking 
the river as a whole, a distinct hardship is imposecl on whites and 
natives alike when the king salmon run is beloAv normal. 

Unquestionably, however, the chum furnishes by far the larger 
share of the dried salmon. Along some stretches of the river almost 
complete dependence is placed on this species, locally known as the 
dog salmon and the " silvers." The higher grade of chums, known as 
" silvers," form the staple dog food throughout the Yukon country. 



144 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES. 

All the traders handle them and may deal in from 5 to 50 tons in a 
year. But they refuse to purchase dog salmon except as a last re- 
sort. The majority of the natives at the close of the fishing season 
sell a portion of their salmon supplj^^ to the trader with whom they 
deal, frequently leaving themselves without adequate provision for 
their families and their dogs. Later in the year they are often com- 
l^elled to repurchase dried salmon at an advanced price, paying for 
it with the proceeds of their winter trapping. They are, of course, 
more or less improvident, as in the case of other primitive peoples. 
Their sale of salmon in the fall is frequently to liquidate their debts 
to traders who had extended them credit eatlier in the season. 

In the section of the main river below Kampart, where salmon are 
still rich in oil and the rainfall during the summer months is usually 
heavj^, resort is had to smoking the salmon in order to preserve 
them. There is no commoner sight along the Yukon than the cluster 
of white tents in some picturesque nook among the hills of the right 
bank, and with them one or more high, barnlike smokehouses, which 
emit a faint blue vapor. There will be a fish wheel turning in the 
current along the rocky shore and a number of open-air racks, more 
or less protected from the weather, on which the salmon are hung 
for a time until partially dried and ready to be smoked. The pic- 
ture is, of course, not complete without the native men, women, and 
children of the summer camp, nor without the invariable row of 
dogs closely tethered to stakes driven near the water's edge. Here 
the dogs fatten on the salmon heads and back bones and other refuse. 
They scratch out shallow holes to lie in alongside their stakes or 
burrow deep into the adjacent bank, if one be at hand, to escape the 
implacable swarm of mosquitoes. 

Along the Tanana and the upper Yukon is a region of less rain- 
fall, in which also the salmon have relatively dry meat, which is 
easily preserved. Here smoking is frequently dispensed with and 
dependence had entirely on air drying. But, by whatever method 
prepared, the fish of the upper river, of the Innoko, the Kojmkuk, 
and the Tanana, are of inferior' grade, and bring a lower price than 
do fish imported into these districts from the main river. The best 
product of all is secured from the Rampart Eapids. Here the 
" silvers " are said to average larger and fatter than in any other sec- 
tion. It is not improbable that inferior strains of dogs and " silvers " 
have turned into the lower tributaries, leaving at the rapids almost 
exclusively high-grade fish bound far up the river. 

In the coastal district when salmon are running abundantly 
trenches are often dug in the soil by natives and hundreds of salmon 
are thrown in without preparation of any kind. They are then 
covered with earth and nature is permitted to have her unrestricted 
way with them. When the contents of these trenches are scooped 
out at some convenient season, perhaps in midwinter, they are said 
to make acceptable dog feed and to be not wholh^ shunned by the 
natives themselves. 

The king salmon intended for their own food is often carefully 
prepared and stared away by natives of the lower river. When suffi- 
ciently dried and smoked, the sides are cut into pieces of convenient 
size and packed solidlj^ in large baskets made for the purpose of 
woven grass, or Avillow roots, or frequently of salmon skins which 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 145 

are neatly fitted together and sewed with sinew. The dog and " sil- 
ver " salmon are tied in bundles weighing about 60 pounds and stored 
away in the caches in this shape. King salmon are also put in bun- 
dles on the upper river. Mention has been made of the salmon 
oil obtained as drippings from king salmon. In addition to this 
product, the eggs are very generally saved, being closely packed in 
any convenient receptacle, without special attempt at preservation. 

During the early part of the king salmon run, from June 25 to 
July 1, a launch trip was made from Kwiguk to Holy Cross and 
return for the purpose of inspecting the condition of the salmon 
racks and obtaining a clue to the extent of the king salmon run 
along the river. The run had been on in this district about one 
week, and all the fish racks along the river contained considerable 
numbers of king salmon. The opinion was general that the season 
was opening favorably. It is in the delta and along this stretch of 
river that fishing is conducted largely with short lengths of gill nets 
set in eddies, and in this district the run of king salmon is a very 
important factor in providing the winter's supply of food. 

In addition to the native camps, there are numerous fishing sta- 
tions occupied by white men. Many of these men are married to 
native wom^en, and some of them are found in native camps, divid- 
ing the proceeds with the native families. In such cases we observed 
commonly that the efficiency of the camp was increased. The white 
men operating on the largest scale were usually holders of winter 
mail contracts, which necessitated the use of large numbers of dogs. 
One such mail carrier keeps some 60 dogs and requires annually for 
their feed from 12 to 14 tons of dried salmon. As these are exclu- 
sively dog or " silver " salmon, the number used is between 15,000 
and 20,000. 

Other white men take dogs to board during the summer and sell 
all salmon they are able to put up beyond their own needs. Many 
of the more intelligent natives now count on doing the same. There 
is a wide and legitimate demand for dried salmon, for use during the 
winter season when all travel in the interior of Alaska must be by clog 
team. As it is impossible to carry enough salmon for a long journey, 
all "dog mushers" depend on the country they pass through. The 
road houses maintain a supply for this purpose, the dried salmon 
taking the place of hay and grain in regions where horses are em- 
ployed, and being equally indispensable. 

During the month of August and the first 10 days of September the 
Yukon was traversed from the delta to Dawson and the Tanana 
as far upstream as Nenana, traveling in a launch and calling at 
the fish camps on the way. The number of families was ascertained 
as accurately as possible, the number of wheels engaged in fishing, 
and the total amount of dried salmon prepared for the season. In 
practically every native camp visited, one or more persons had a 
sufficient understanding of English to enable them to furnish the 
required information. In the majority of instances the racks, smoke- 
houses, and caches were inspected, and finally some facility was ac- 
quired in verifying by observation the estimates furnished. 

By this method the writers are enabled to present an estimate of 
the dried salmon prepared on the Yukon in 1920, which is based on 



146 U. S. BUREAU or FISHERIES. 

more extended data than any heretofore furnished. That it is an 
understatement of the amount of salmon actually captured and used 
on the river is obvious from the following considerations : 

1. The lower river was canvassed from the 1st to the 15th of 
August, and there was a later run of " silvers " of limited extent, of 
which the figures give no account. A message from Holy Cross, 
dated September 15, indicated a medium run of " silvers " for some 
three weeks after that point was passed. The still later run of 
cohos is also not included in tlie estimates. 

2. No clue could be obtained as to the number of salmon eaten 
fresh during the season, but this must be a considerable item. 

3. None of the tributaries of the Ytikon were visited, with the 
exception of the Tanana below Nenana, yet some of these, like the 
Innoko, the Koyukuk, the Porcupine, and the Stewart, are im- 
portant streams. The natives in these regions draw on the rivers for 
their supply of dried salmon, and the white prospectors and miners 
out on the creeks may obtain their -do<i, feed from the very spawning 
beds. To what extent spawning beds are invaded for this purpose 
is not known, but from rejjorts that have been received it would 
seem probable the figures may reach dimensions of some local 
importance. 

On the Yukon Kiver, from the "mouth to Dawson, 97 native fish 
camps were observed, each of which contained from 1 to 15 families. 
Three hundred and seventy families were listed, who were engaged 
in fishing, but the matter was sometimes obscure and the number of 
families may have been somewhat greater than this. The natives 
operated 166 wheels, in addition to the short gill nets of the loAver 
river, which were not enumerated. The dried salmon put up by 
them amounted approximately to 350 tons, or nearly 1 ton to each 
known family. Many families had less than this amount, but others 
compensated for the deficiency by harvests of 3, 4, or even 5 tons. 
The younger generation gives promise of being more provident than 
the old. Some of them put up large surplus stocks for sale and 
carry over fish from one season to the next. There is some ap- 
parently well-founded complaint that sufficient care is not always 
given to curing the salmon, so that in rainy seasons like 1920 large 
stocks maj be oifered for sale which are rendered almost worthless 
by mold and deca}^ One Japanese fisherman operated a wheel on 
the river and put up 1,200 pounds. 

There Avere 76 white fishing camps, usually with a single white man 
in a camp, but in a few instances two white men were working in 
partnership, or a white man in conjunction with natives. There 
were 91 white men in all, and they prepared approximately 190 tons 
of dried fish. 

On the Tanana River below Fairbanks there were 24 native fishing 
camps, operating 24 fish wheels and containing approximately 30 
tons of salmon. There were also 26 white fishing camps, with 34 
wheels and some 52 tons of salmon. 

Altogether, on the Yukon and the Tanana, 301 fish wheels were 
operated in 1920 and resulted in a take of 622 tons. Of this amount 
8 per cent were king salmon and 92 per cent were chums. If an 
allowance of 100 tons is made for the tributaries not visited and for 
the later runs on the Yukon which were not seen — and this allowance 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHEEIES. . 147 

is almost certainly inadequate — there would be a total provision of 
dried salmon for the Yukon and its tributaries in 1920 amounting 
to Y22 tons. 

The only previous estimate known, based on a partial canvass of 
the fishing camps, was that prepared by Messrs. H. J, Christoffers 
and C. F. Townsend, of the Bureau of Fisheries, in 1918 for the 
purpose of the Yukon hearing of that year. They enumerated 393 
fish wheels and a total product of 650 to TOO tons for the Yukon 
and Tanana Rivers, exclusive of Yukon Territory. Mr. Volney 
Richmond, manager of the Northern Commercial Co. stores, basing 
his estimate on conditions throughout the Yukon Valley, intimately 
known by him for many years, gave 600 tons as a fair annual provi- 
sion of dried salmon for the region. It is possible that more salmon 
were dried in 1920 than would represent a fair average for the river, 
inasmuch as the previous year had been largely a failure, prices for 
dried salmon had risen to unheard of figures, and all reserve stocks 
had been exhausted. 

Estimating the average dried king salmon at 5 pounds, and 
the average chum at 1^ pounds, there were about 23,000 kings and 
1,000,000 chums put up on the Yukon in 1920 for local use. 

COMPARISON OF 1920 WITH 1919. 

At all fish camps visited expressions of opinion were invited as to 
the relative size of the runs in 1920 and in 1919. The evidence given 
was overwhelmingly in favor of the run of 1919 being considered one 
of the worst if not the very worst ever known on the Yukon. Natives 
and whites all were practically a unit in this belief. Those whp 
believed the cannery was not responsible for the shortage were as well 
satisfied on the subject of the shortage itself as were those who laid 
the entire responsibility at the door of the cannery. Those who did 
put up fairly satisfactory supplies of salmon recognized that they 
were especially favored in their locations, but thought that the river 
as a whole was relatively bare of fish.. 

In the lower section of the river more fish would haA'^e been pre- 
pared if storms had not broken the wheels and interrupted the fish- 
ing. Storms also broke wheels and interrupted fishing along this 
section of the river in 1920, but racks and smokehouses were not 
empty of fish. The natives nbout Nulato and Koyukuk would have 
made better provision for the winter of 1919 had they fished dili- 
gently throughout the season instead of potlatching as they did. 
They would unquestionably have had more fish, but it is doubtful 
whether they could have secured enough even had they fished consist- 
ently with as much diligence as they ever display. It was impos- 
sible to doubt, after interviewing several hundred people distributed 
along the entire length of the Yukon, that the run of 1919 was phe- 
nomenally deficient ; and, furthermore, that if this condition should 
become permanent, or should frequently recur, a very serious condi- 
tion would arise in the interior of Alaska. 

No basis is available for a well-founded estimate of the amount of 
dried salmon put up in 1919, but we believe that 150 or 200 tons 
would be an outside estimate for the entire river. The price rose 
to 25, 30, and 35 cents per pound, with no stocks available even at 
those prices. Men compelled to travel during the winter experienced 



148 U, S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 

the utmost difficulty in securing substitute dog feed. Fresh meat was 
used, although this is by no means satisfactory, and deplorable num- 
bers of caribou were slaughtered by natives and others for this 
purpose. Cereals and bacon were made use of, and stores and trading 
posts soon found their stocks running low. The natives killed, or 
permitted to die of starvation, half or more than half of their dogs,, 
and many white men M^ere compelled to adopt the same course. 
Undoubtedly the best dogs were retained and the least valuable were 
culled out of the teams. But the general opinion entertained by those 
best acquainted with the natives and their needs was to the effect that 
the great reduction in the size of their dog teams was disastrous and 
the dog shortage was sure to hamper them in their efforts to make a 
living during the coming winter. 

There were no reported cases of starvation or of serious suffering 
among the natives during the winter of 1919 because of the shortage 
of salmon, although they might well have occurred in outlying dis- 
tricts if help had not been given by white traders and by others. 
At Tanana rations were issued from the military post at Fort Gibbon, 
intended to relieve distress among the sick and aged natives of that 
vicinity. But the winter was in some respects unusually favorable. 
On the upper river heavy snows drove the caribou to the lowlands 
near the river, where natives coukV hunt them without making long 
sledge journeys with their dog teams into the mountains. Com- 
missioner Mackenzie at DaAvson said that had it not been for this 
fortunate coincidence the Indians in that vicinity would have suf- 
fered severely. In the Tanana-Fairbanks district moose were abun- 
dant and were easily captured in the deep snows. And farther clown 
the river, in the Nulato-Koyukuk region, the grouse, which had been 
scarce for a number of years, had begun to come back in their former 
abundance. Here again had the season not been unusually favorable 
for securing fresh meat near at hand severe suffering would have 
been experienced. Such favorable conditions can not he expected to 
recur should the salmon supply again fail. 

To resume, it does not admit of doubt that there was a most serious 
scarcity of salmon last winter, nor that this was occasioned primarily 
by an equally serious shortage in the run. By no other theory can 
so general a failure in the river fishing be explained. The lower 
and middle sections of the river, the Ramparts and Upper Yukon, 
the Porcupine, the Tanana, and the Koyukuk, all tell the same story. 
Dogs were sacrificed in large numbers, which were neither useless 
nor superfluous, and the natives were saved from serious suffering 
only by a series of happy coincidences, which could not again be 
expected. 

TO WHAT EXTENT WAS YUKON CANNERY RESPONSIBLE FOR 1919 

SHORTAGE? 

As the cannery of the Carlisle Packing Co. at the mouth of the 
Yukon did not operate prior to 1917, and as neither the king, chum, 
nor coho salmon matures in two-year cycles, it is evident that the 
cannery could have had no influence on the size of the run which 
presented itself at the mouth of the river in 1919 and sought access 
to the spawning beds. The individuals which comprised this run 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHEEIES. 149 

had all been derived from eggs deposited in the Yukon gravels 
before ever the cannery was established. There could be no ques- 
tion, therefore of impairment of the run having resulted in 1919 from 
previous cannery operations. 

The only possible effect of the Carlisle cannery up to the present 
time has been to diminish, by the number of salmon captured, the 
runs which enter the river and are available to the native and white 
inhabitants of the valley. In 1919 the company reported the capture 
of 101,107 king salmon and 357,081 small salmon, largely chums. If 
these had been captured upriver and dried, the king salmon would 
then have averaged about 5 pounds each and the chums 1^ to 1^ 
pounds. Adopting the lower figure, the cannery pack, dried, would 
have amounted to 252 tons of king salmon and 223 tons of the smaller 
varieties, or 475 tons altogether. This is held to be more than twice 
any possible estimate of the amount of dried salmon actually put up 
during that season on the entire river. 

If the 100,000 kings and the 350,000 chums taken by the cannery 
had been permitted to ascend the river, to what extent, we may ask, 
would the situation have been helped ? It would depend on the size 
of the run and the proportion which, under the conditions of 1919, 
would escape capture at the hands of the river fishermen. If the 
fishing camps along the river were catching 50 per cent of the run, 
the cannery fish would have added some 235 tons, and the catch 
would thus have been more than doubled. If they were capturing a 
third of the run, the cannery fish avouIcI have increased their small 
catch by over 150 tons. 

Data for such an estimate are not available. In the muddy waters 
of the Yukon the schools of salmon are invisible, and no direct 
estimate can be formed of their numbers. There is abundant evi- 
dence, however, that a large majority of the king salmon running in 
1919 were captured in nets or encountered nets and escaped from 
them on the way into the river. White fishermen and natives, prac- 
tically without exception, including those who felt no hostility to the 
cannery, agreed that the king salmon averaged smaller in size than 
ever before and that the relatively few larger individuals were net 
marked in the majority of cases. The same fishermen, operating in 
the same localities in 1920, state almost without exception that the 
king salmon in 1920 averaged large in size, and the number of net- 
marked fish was so small as to be negligible. 

Many opportunities have occurred to observe elsewhere salmon 
caught in wheels or traps above a district heavily fished with gill 
nets. The results are always the same. The smaller salmon filter 
through the nets, which screen out the larger sizes, leaving the 
average size of the escaping fish always greatly diminished. And 
many of the fish escape through the web after being temporarily 
captured, the twine having become so tightly constricted about the 
body as to leave permanent marks that can not be mistaken. At the 
rack which was maintained in Wood River above the Nushagak fish- 
ing district there was opportunity to examine the fish escaping 
from gill nets that were capturing from 75 to 90 per cent of "the 
running fish, but never were the escaping sockeyes so extensively 
net marked as the Yukon king salmon are credibly reported to 
have been in 1919. 



150 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES. 

Not all the screening out of the larger sizes and the net marking 
was clue to the operations of the cannery. Natives in the lower river 
also fish for king salmon with nets, but the extent of their operations 
is so very small compared with that of the cannery in 1919 that the 
effect was negligible. Fishermen interviewed stated that they had 
in previous years seen a few net-marked fish prior to the opening 
of the cannery, but never anj^thing to compare with the condition 
observed in 1919. The prevalence of small-sized king salmon in 
1919, taken in connection with the extent of the net marking, may 
justly be considered a measure of the closeness with which these 
salmon were fished in 1919. 

What was true of the king salmon was true also, it is believed, of 
the run of chums. Fishing for these was prosecuted during the 
months of June, July, and August. Conditions at the mouth of the 
river were comparatively favorable for a maximum catch through- 
out the season. As the salmon move back and forth with the tides, 
passing up and down the banks where nets are staked, and loitering 
in the eddies where other nets are anchored, the cannery gear has 
repeated chances to ensnare them. One of the principal deficiencies 
in the 1919 run in the upper river was the almost total failure of 
the " silvers." These, it will be recalled, are the bright chums of high 
quality which run after the king salmon have passed. It was to 
these that the cannery devoted its attention after the king salmon 
nets had been retired. In 1919 the king salmon run had materially 
declined by July 5, and it was after this date that 272,717 out of the 
total 357,081 small salmon (principally chums) were taken. It is 
considered certain that the operations of the cannery in 1919 very 
materially added to the scarcity of fish on the river. Had the fish 
captured by the cannery been free to enter the river, the run would 
still have been below the normal size, but the distress and incon- 
venience occasioned to the interior of Alaska by the salmon short- 
age would have been largely mitigated. 

EFFECT OF CANNERY IN 1920. 

The run of 1920 has been universally approved by fishermen as 
the most favorable since 1916. Salmon were abundant, of good 
average size, and of excellent quality. Some fishermen acclaimed 
it the largest run they had ever seen on the river, but the majority 
called it a fair average run of the better class of years. Certain it 
was there was no necessary lack of dried salmon anywhere on the 
main river as far upstream as Dawson. Some complaint was heard 
of insufficient fish supply on the Yukon Flats in the vicinity of 
Fort Yukon, and it was noted in certain native villages between 
Circle and Forty-Mile that scant provision seemed to have been made 
for the winter. But it was not evident that there was any lack of 
salmon. All white fishermen and some natives in these districts made 
good catches and reported the fish abundant. At Dawson, where 
serious complaints were heard the previous year, sufficient supplies 
were secured in 1920. Such slackness as apparently existed in 
certain native camps may find its explanation perhaps partly in the 
effects of the " flu," which ravaged some of these communities in 
the spring of the year, partly in superabundance of money, owing 
to high prices received for muskrat pelts, and partly, in some com- 



U. S. BUKEAU OF EISHEPvIES. 151 

munities, to a general sliiftlessness, which habitually leads to priva- 
tion and suifering in the winter. 

A similar condition was observed in certain fish camps on the 
lower Tanana, in which natives seemed obviously less intelligent and 
less efficient than in the great majority of camps on the main river. 
In a few of these was heard the comjjlaint that there were no fish, 
but it is believed that their scant supply was due to other causes. It 
is of course true that any scarcity will first declare itself on the 
upper river and among the tributaries, after the salmon, which 
run in a single channel in the main river, have distributed them- 
selves over a far wider area. It is regretted that reliable reports 
could not be obtained from the Innoko, the Koyukuk, and the Por- 
cupine. 

In comparing the eifects of the cannery in 1920 with those in 1919 
conditions are met in the two years that were the very reverse of 
one another. 

In 1919 the total run of salmon was far below normal, the condi- 
tions for fishing at the mouth of the river were favorable, the can- 
nery catch was very large, and considered in relation to the number 
of salmon running it was far larger. 

In 1920 there was at least a fair average run of the better class, and 
not improbably it was one of the best runs that can be expected in 
the Yukon ; but the cannery was unsuccessful, owing to adverse fish- 
ing conditions. It obtained little more than half as many kings as 
in 1919 and less than half as many chums. Had the 58,000 kings and 
155,000 chums been permitted to enter the river more salmon un- 
doubtedly would have reached the spawning grounds, but the amount 
of dried salmon would not have been greatly increased. In the first 
place the number released would bear a small ratio to the total num- 
ber running in so good a year ; and. furthermore, along that section 
of the river which put up by far the larger amount of dried salmon, 
wheels, if operated more than a few hours each day during the 
height of the run, caught more fish than could be cleaned and pre- 
pared for drying. It does not then appear that with a large run of 
salmon and a relatively small cannery pack the latter has any recog- 
nizable effect in lessening the dried salmon supply of the Yukon. We 
are not prepared, however, to venture the assertion that such would 
have been the case had the cannery pack in 1920 reached as large 
proportions as it attained in 1919. But even had the cannery put 
up the full 60,000 cases in 1920, for which it made preparations, it 
would not have reproduced the severe conditions which existed on 
the river in 1919. These, as has been shown, were the result of a 
phenomenally poor season, made much worse by a large cannery 
pack. 

GENERAL DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The dependence of the native and white population on the salmon 
suppl}'^ of the Yukon admits of no question in the minds of any who 
have acquaintance with the conditions of life in the great interior 
of Alaska. The natives have other sources of food, but the salmon 
form their main provision for the winter — their insurance against 
starvation when other sources of food fail them, as they not infre- 
quently do. No one who inquires into the matter can doubt that if 



152 U, S. BUEEAU OF FISHEKIES. 

the supply of Yukon salmon should become seriously curtailed wide- 
spread suffering and death would in many seasons be visited on the 
natives. 

The question of furnishing food for the whites is less urgent, but 
is not without importance. It was brought to our attention that with 
the price of all articles of food rapidly rising, while wages in the 
interior of Alaska have shown practically no increase during recent 
years, the presence of a cheap source of food is of value. 

But one of the most important phases of the salmon question, 
which concerns whites and natives alike, is in relation to the dog. 
The whole scheme of things in the sparsely populated Yukon wilder- 
ness is predicated on the dog, and the use of the dog necessitates 
dried salmon. The winter is the only time for travel except along 
the waterways of Alaska, and winter travel is impossible without the 
dog team. Dogs are equally indispensable as draft animals and pack 
animals. Transportation of the winter mails over thousands of miles 
of the interior of Alaska must be accomplished by dog team. Men 
of the Army and the Signal Corps, like all other people in Alaska, 
are dependent on the dog whenever business makes it necessary for 
them to undertake winter travel. Fort Gibbon alone needs 40 tons 
of dried salmon each j'-ear to feed the dogs that they find indis- 
pensable in their work. Prospectors need them to carry their sup- 
plies into the hills. Wood choppers require them to haul in the 
wood. Indians must have them on their long hunting and trapping 
expeditions, and without them can neither secure meat for their 
families nor furs to exchange for the other necessaries of life. 

The dog is as essential in Alaska as is the horse in other regions, 
and the only acceptable dog feed is dried salmon. Various substi- 
tutes have been tried out when salmon could not be procured. They 
were used extensively by the " dog-mushers " of 1919, when dried 
salmon often could not be had at any price. Fresh meat was used, 
and enormous numbers of caribou and moose were slaughtered for 
this purpose. But it is impossible to carry sufficient meat for many 
days, and the supply is precarious. Furthermore, -the dogs do not 
thrive and work well on this diet. A diet of cereals and fat in some 
form was extensively used. Stocks of rice, flour, corn meal, and bacon 
were heavily drawn on. Dogs traveled well on a ration of corn meal 
and bacon, but the expense was almost prohibitive, and there was the 
labor of cooking up each night in camp a meal for the dogs after the 
exhausting travel of the clay with the temperature perhaps 50° 
below zero and a weary famished team waiting to be fed. Dried 
salmon forms a light condensed food which contains all the elements 
needed to keep a hard-working team in excellent condition, and it is 
always ready to be fed without preparation. There is no acceptable 
substitute, and there is not in Alaska any divergence of opinion on 
this subject. No single need in the interior of Alaska is more gen- 
erally or more urgently felt than dried salmon for its various uses. 

It is clear, then, that the Yukon and the Kuskokwim offer salmon 
problems which are not pressing on any other Alaskan rivers with 
the exception of the Copper River. These streams drain the far 
northern interior districts of Alaska with long severe winters and 
the briefest of summers. The inhabitants are few in number and 
are distributed widely over a wilderness which is largely without 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 153 

population. Their lives are subject to the most severe conditions of 
existence. Largely they are dependent on the resources of the 
country. To deprive these people of one of their most valued and 
most important resources would seem under such circumstances 
peculiarly indefensible. The principle should be adopted with regard 
to the interior rivers of Alaska that no commercial interests should 
be permitted to exploit them until it should be demonstrated that a 
portion of their salmon run could be spared without detriment to the 
run itself and without encroaching on the supply needed by the 
populations that inhabit the valleys of these rivers. And if there is 
any question whether the salmon run in a given stream is adequate to 
supply the demands of commercial operations as well as the needs of 
the inhabitants, the doubt should at once be resolved in favor of the 
people. The subject should not be one for experiment. Canneries 
should not be permitted to establish themselves on these streams 
while we calmly await the result. They may create havoc before the 
evidence thereof is clearly shown, and in the meantime they will 
have secured those highly prized " vested rights " which make their 
position difficult of attack. 

A floating cannery operated by the Carlisle Packing Co. is already 
established at the mouth of the Yukon, and it becomes appropriate 
to inquire whether the continued operation of this cannery is com- 
patible with the best interests of the Yukon Valley. It is evident 
that if the fish required by this company can without question be 
safely spared, the cannery should be welcomed, for it provides 
much needed freight for a transportation company that supplies 
the Yukon and it offers much needed employment for a limited 
number of natives and others during a brief period of the summer. 
But if the operation of the cannery should threaten encroachment 
on the supj)ly of salmon needed in the interior it should be com- 
pelled to close, as no advantage to its few employees could possibly 
compensate for widespread inconvenience, distress, and suffering. 

As a result of the Yukon hearing, given in Seattle, Wash., No- 
vember 20, 1918, the Secretary of Commerce promulgated an order 
that limited the j^ack of canned salmon to 30,000 cases in any year 
from the Yukon Elver, embracing all waters of its delta to ancl in- 
cluding the area 500 yards outside each mouth or slough of the 
delta at mean high tide. Beyond this area of 500 yards outside the 
mouth or mouths of the river the Secretary of Commerce exercises 
no jurisdiction, the Congress having failed to confer it upon him. 
He is therefore helpless to extend protection to channels between 
shoals and islands off' the mouth of any river, although such chan- 
nels may be regular migration routes of the salmon bound for that 
river and as much open to attack as any part of the river channels. 

Realizing this deficiency of the laws, the Carlisle Packing Co. in 
1919 put up approximately the maximum pack inside the river, 
and then proceeded nearly to double this with salmon equally bound 
for the Yukon which they captured outside the mouth of the river. 
In doing this they wefe wholly within their legal rights, but they 
evinced thereby an indifference to the obvious purport of the order, 
which was to provide for a strictly limited pack of Yukon fish. In 
making this increased pack they happened on a year when the run 
was poor and the fishing conditions were excellent. They were 



154 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES. 

enabled, therefore, to give a demonstration of the results of such 
operations when these two conditions appear in conjunction. The 
disastrous year of 1919 resulted. 

As to the future, there is no assurance of better protection than in 
1919. From our inquiries it appears that the Yukon runs of salmon 
are by no means uniform in size. Good years and poor years alter- 
nate, and occasional very poor years have always appeared. Mean- 
while the Carlisle company continues to operate without check be- 
yond the mouth of the river. Should they consider the prospect of 
success warranted the expenditure, there is nothing to prevent their 
increasing the number of fishermen and preparing for a pack of 
100,000 instead of 60,000 cases. Or one or more other companies 
may join in the business of catching Yukon salmon off the mouth of 
the river if they consider the venture a promising one. The Yukon 
run is wholly without adequate protection as long as the approaches 
to the river are oj)en to unrestricted fishing and are outside the 
jurisdiction of the Secretary of Commerce. 

Finally, it is the judgment of the writers that the Yukon River 
salmon run is not to be relied on annually to produce a surplus for 
export in addition to the supply needed for local requirements and 
the further quantity essential for propagation. During good years 
a surplus might be spared sufficient to produce a limited pack, but 
during poor years the operation of a cannery will have the effect 
of making a bad situation very decidedly worse. 

It is recommended, therefore, that all commercial fishing for 
export be prohibited in the Yukon River and its tributaries, includ- 
ing the waters of the delta and an area 600 yards outside the mouth 
of each channel or slough of the delta. 

Furthermore, it is recommended that immediate steps be taken to 
have brought within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Commerce 
all those channels between the shoals and islands which form the 
approaches to the Yukon in order that commercial fishing in said 
channels for export may be effectively limited or entirely prohibited. 

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